Crime History - Actress Dominique Dunne strangled by ex
By: Scott McCabe
Examiner Staff Writer
October 30, 2009
On this day, Oct. 30, in 1982, young actress Dominique Dunne, daughter of celebrity crime writer Dominick Dunne, was strangled by her ex-boyfriend. She died five days later.
Dominique, 22, was best known for her role as the oldest daughter, Dana, in the 1982 Academy Award-nominated horror film "Poltergeist." After filming wrapped up, Dunne moved in with her boyfriend, Los Angeles chef John Thomas Sweeney.
But the relationship became stormy. Sweeney was so abusive that Dunne needed little makeup when she played a battered woman on television's "Hill Street Blues." Dunne moved out. Sweeney showed up at her new home and they argued in the driveway. Sweeney choked her. She fell into a coma and died on Nov. 4.
Sweeney was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to six years.
The "Poltergeist" series is said to be cursed partly because of the deaths of four of the cast members, including one who died during production of the second film. Dunne is buried at Westwood Memorial Park in Los Angeles, close to co-star Heather O'Rourke, who died at age 12 after a medical misdiagnosis.
- Scott McCabe
